Spaced link track



Aug 3, ,1954 M. G. BEKKER 2,685,481

SPACED LINK TRACK Filed July 25, 1950 v 4 Sheets-Sheet l ATTORNEY Aug. 3, 1954 M. G. BEKKER sPAcED LINK TRACK 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed July 25, 1950 AorAL-sHEAR-ZONE -A RANKmE-zoNE-B Aug. 3, 1954 Filed July 25, 1950 M. G. BEKKER 2,685,481

SPACED LINK TRACK 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 ATTR/VEY Aug. 3, 1954 M. G. BEKKER 2,685,481

SPACED LINK TRACK Filed July 25, 1950 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 ATTORNEY Patented Aug. 3, 1954 SPACED LINK TRACK Mieczyslaw Gregory Bekker, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, assigner to His Majesty the King in the right of Canada as represented by the Minister of National Defence, Ottawa, Ontario,

`Canada Application July-25, 1950, Serial No. 175,767

3 Claims.

1 This invention lrelates to tracked vehicles and is particularly directed to a novel arrangement Aof the link constituting the'track with the intention of developing a greater tractve eort over varying conditions of terrain by taking advantage of the maximum strength of various conditions of soil.

Tracked vehicles are now well known and nd extensive use under conditions where wheeled vehicles tend to sink into the ground or the driving wheelsfail to obtain a grip. .Industrial and agricultural tractors illustrate one use of tracked Vehicles. The development and extensive use of the military tank present problems in design which are of vital importance.

The basic conception of a trackedvehicle involves the use of' a continuous belt ortrack passing over a plurality of 'wheels one of which wheels is adapted to engage and drive the track.

Considerable work has been done over the years in developing various forms of track links, methods of drive, and methods of hinging the links together, but to discussthe development at the present would not assist in-an `understanding of the invention but would merelycause confusion. t

There are a number of different functions which the track of a tracked vehicle `may perform, but in many cases it was necessary for various reasons to adopt a compromise in which it fulfils some of these functions only partially-or not at all. The extent to which any particular function is fullled will depend vto a large extent on factors outside the controlof the track designer and in particular on the characteristics of the suspension, such as the number and size of the weight-carrying wheels, the spacing betweenthem, the absorption and wheel deflection permitted by the springs, and generally on the contour of the track. .These factorsin turn will bedetermined by the general design of the vehicle and in particular the speed at which it is required to operate on various types of ground, and the extent to which itmust be capable of negotiating soft ground, and obstacles of various sorts, referred to generally as its performance. It will, of course, also dependto a very large ex-` tent on the type of track adopted, but here again the choice will be largely governed by the performance required. The main functions which a track may fulfil .are set out .brieiiy below:

(a) Providing multi-wheel drive from a single axle, i. e. the equivalent of a locomotive coupling rod, to ensure that the whole area of ground on which the weight ofthe vehicle is supported contributes its quota to the tractive eifort i. e. the force which propels the vehicle forward.A

(b) Increasing the area of ground uponwhich a grip is obtained to drive the vehicle forward, so as to increase the tractive effort on certain types of ground.

(c) Distributing the pressure due to the weight of the vehicle over as large an area of ground as possible, so as to keep down the maximum pressure exerted on the ground and prevent the ground being squashed down more than is essential, thereby reducing the rolling resistance, i. e. the force which opposes the movement of the vehicle.

(d) Improving obstacle-crossing performance by providing the equivalent of a, ramp for helping the vehicle to mount an obstacle, and by bridging the gap between wheels and thereby preventing individual wheels fromdroppingtoo far into trenches and the like.

(e) To produce an even and smooth roller lpath along which the road wheels can run with the minimum of resistance.

'It will be obvious that the links which compose a track must have certain features in common, inasmuch as these featuresare dictated by the functions which the ytrack has to fulfil. Thus, all links must possess the following:

(a) A surface to restfon the ground'to give support, which may provide:

(b) A surface lto 'engage the ground to give adhesion Whether by friction lor by `digging-dnand tending to shear the ground.

(c) A wheelpath `for the load bearing wheels to run on.

(d) Guiding faces to keep the wheels on the i tracks.

(c) Driving surfaces for exampleon trunnons, openings, or teeth, to take the drive from the sprocket.

y() A. hinge for connecting one link to the next link. l

It is clear that the track link must afford a surface on which the upward .pressure of the ground can act to supportthe load. This surface will offer a certain measure of adhesionbetween the track link and ground evenif it is completely nat and in somecases this adhesion'has been .relied upon as sufcient for normalrunning.

In other cases the supporting surface has `not been completely iiat but has had in it various forms'of grooves or recesses formed either on purpose to improve adhesion orbecause the link could not be made otherwise. In particular, if a track link is formed by stamping, it is Very much easier to push up projections on its upper surface if resesses are formed in its underface. In the same category with tracks having recesses in their underside it may be mentioned tracks having irregular projections, that is, anything other than a straight bar or spud extending transversely across the track, e. g. a chevron.

The adhesion provided by a nat surface is generally not sufficient in many conditions, and is not much improved by recesses which are liable to become filled with earth. In these cases instead of an inadequate adhesion between soil and track line, a rather insu'cient cohesion between soil and soil is developed. In many cases the links have formed on them one or more transverse spuds or grousers to dig into the ground and improve adhesion. The role of the grousers, however, was found to be rather inadequate and, as experience has shown, limited by mechanical inconveniences.

It is an object of this invention to provide a track fulfilling the required functions and the design requirements enumerated above or incorporated and which will develop much greater tractive effort over various types of soil than the prior art track.

It has been found that the conventional track composed of a series of grouser plates hinged closely together has a performance which is not fundamentally affected by the track design. The tractive effort or draw bar pull of such conventional tracks does not basically depend on the design of individual track links. In cohesive soil only the area of contact surface between the track shoes and the soil determines the tractive effort, whereas in frictional soil the weight of vthe vehicle is solely responsible for the available draw bar pull regardless of the track dimension. In both cases the shape of the individual track link, the dimensions and the spacing of the grousers have a secondary and rather insignificant meaning as far as tractive effort is concerned. This may be explained by the fact that existing grousers which are usually spaced relatively close together merely cause horizontal shearing of the ground and each grouser only has to move the block of earth between itself and the next grouser at a depth not exceeding the grouser depth. Whether slip occurs between the material of the track and the soil, or between two layers of soil, the ratio of the frictional or shearing force to the normal force is known as the adhesion factor. Thus in the case of solid friction between the track and for example concrete road, the coefficient of friction and the adhesion factor are the same thing, and within limits are independent of the area of contact.

Where the track is provided with spuds which dig into the ground it generally follows that slip can only occur if there is some shearing of the upper layer of the ground between the grousers and the adhesion factor in these circumstances will on a cohesive soil be dependent on the area of contact. It is well to bear in mind that both shear and surface friction may be present together, especially on hard ground where the bulk of the weight is carried on the grousers.

The law governing the friction of the kind that arises when a sample of earth is sheared is somewhat similar but not identical to the laws of solid friction, the resemblance varying with the type of soil. In this case the force required to produce shearing per unit area is given by Coulombs equation, namely:

s=p tan qs-l-c where p is the normal pressure, qa the angle of internal friction and c the cohesion.

Internal friction is primarily associated with granular particles such as sand, whilst cohesion is associated with binders such as clays.

The resistance to shear is directly proportional to the normal pressure. A cohesive material on the other hand can offer a resistance to shear even when there is no normal pressure, in which case the adhesion factor would theoretically be infinite. v

It should be noted that the moisture content and the spacing and arrangement of particles of the soil affect its properties and it must be realized that the value of c and fp are not absolute constants for a given soil but vary with factors such as those mentioned above.

It is known that the stresses in earth which is in a state of plastic flow or shear satisfy Coulombs equation involve that at every point the surfaces of rupture are inclined to the plane on which acts the major principal stress at angles of (451/2).

If a vertical hoe blade is driven into the earth and then forced horizontally the major stress in the adjacent ground acts on horizontal planes whence the lines of rupture are theoretically inclined to the vertical at angles of (45+/2) or to the horizontal at (45-qS/2).

Therefore if a vertical blade such as a hoe is driven into the ground and then moved horizontally, the earh will shear approximately in a plane inclined at an angle (45-qa/2) to the horizontal where o is the angle of internal friction. This angle of rupture is independent of the cohesion of the soil and also of any surcharge.

Consequently the soil slide is substantially a wedge-shaped block pushed by the action of the hoe blade if the soil located in this block is allowed to move freely upwards.

The conventional track link employing a grouser or spud fails to develop the maximum tractive effort because the adjacent links disturb and do not allow the free movement of the wedgeshaped soil block. Accordingly the present invention is directed to a spaced link track in which approximately L-shaped links are used and in which the links are spaced sufficiently far apart to permit the soil to fully shear in a wedgeshaped manner described above between each of the links. Y

In the accompanying drawings practical examples of the invention are disclosed.

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the new track.

Figure 2 is an end view showing one link of the track in engagement with the ground.

Figure 3 is a plan view of the new track in engagement with the ground and sectioned to show the action of the grousers.

Figure 4 is a further embodiment of the invention wherein the individual links are staggered on each side of the track.

Figure 5 illustrates an embodiment of the invention in which a supplementary track is employed.

Figure 6 is a diagram illustrating the movement of soil as a result of applied forces.

Figure l illustrates a modification of the invention as applied to a wheel.

Figure 8 shows the invention applied to a partially girderized track.

Figure 9 illustrates a further embodiment of the invention in which a continuous rubber belt is employed.

Figure 1 0 illustrates the asymmetric location of track supporting members for use on hard road surfaces.

Referring now to Figure 1 three links of the proposedv track are illustrated zand it will be seen vthat each link is composed ofi-an upper structure I which forms a chain or track articulated at I2 by bolts or pins I3. The bolts or pins .I3 may be'of any lconventional design known to those skilled in the art. Trackv link I4 fitted with grousers or spuds I5 of generally L shape are -secured to the track It and spaced apart a dis- .tance Z shown by the arrow inFigures .1"and3.

It will be noted that the chain links'I D'formed by the uper .structure of the track are 4so shaped that the soil portion extending between the adjacent links is possibly'not loaded at ali by any portion of the vehicle weight.

The links or track Illmay also serve as rails for supporting the bogie or idling wheels I6 of the vehicle in the same manner as done in conventional tracked vehicles. These rails may be adapted for any required number of rows of bogie wheels.

The distance l between individual links I4 evaluated to the following approximate formula:

:where s is the rlength of the link plate, e is the Naperian base 2.718, h is the depth of the spud, is the angle of internal friction of soil. 0 is -the angle at `which the ground bearing capacity, equal to the geometrical sum of the safe vertical load V, and of the horizontal load H, isrsloped to the perpendicular.

Thesafe soil loads 'V and H are those exercised by vehicle weight and by the tractive efiforts respectively without involving Vsoil failure. These loads may be expressed approximately by the formulae having the following'structure.:

where p and n are pure numbers depending on the ratio of dimensions h and s, -as well as on soil friction and as appear, for example, in the methods and formulas for obtaining bearing factors in Theoretical Soil Mechanics byK. Terzaghi. The values for the various elements of the formula can either be determined iexperif mentally, or obtained Vfrom standard works in soil mechanics such as the ypublication Theoretical Soil Mechanics by Terzaghi. Angle p is expressed in degrees; angle 0 in degrees or radians is the angle between V and \/H2A-IV2 wherein H and V are in pounds per square foot; c is the coefficient of expansion in pounds per square inch; and 'y is the specific weight of the soil in pounds per cubic inch.

The length l as expressed by the above quoted formula also may be determined experimentally by means of a testing apparatus by measuring the distances at which soil breaks after somewhat larger loads H and V than those safe ones have been applied in conformity with the vehicle weight and with the required tractive effort.

It has been stated above that the spuds or grousers should be generally L-shaped and it has been found that good results are obtainedv when both flanges are of equal length. In the example shown in Figure 1 the link consists of one unit of sufficient length to give adequate bearing surface and a free soil surface as required by the soil movement. In some cases it may be found that this length of a link is too great :for eflicient' operation of'sthe vehicle in.

which case a staggered form of trackias shown in Figure 4 maybe used where half links Vareemployed extending alternatelyifrom each side 'of the track. By adopting this `alternate'embodiment .of the invention the pitch of .the track'is shortened without departing from the `basic .con-

cept 'ofthis invention of basing the length asufncient distance to permit a wedge-shaped vshear zone yto be created and having no load upon'this section.

The shortening of the' track'pitch'without'disturbing the positioning of the rails andbogie wheels may also be achieved by the partial girderization of thetrack. In Figure 8 every Lsecond link hinge is shown girderized i. e. it cannot: bend upwards but is 'able to wrap aroundthe idlers and sprocket. Such partial girderization permits the use of ashortertrack pitch and provides adequate support .for theurunning. Vgear without incurring excessive bending momentsv in the girderized links.

In Figure 9 a track is disclosed in which .the links .are mounted Aon a vcontinuous belt' made of .flexible material such as rubber.

An essential embodiment of the invention is disclosed in Figure 5V in which the gaps between the links arev coveredby an enclosing member II. The member I'Iis positioned some distance above the track links and may takeeitherthe form of alight beltor4 a more rigid structure such as-the form of track link disclosed in Figure 9 where thelink is of stepped constructionV4 having an upper flange extending over practically all the distance between the two links. In this form of the invention the members I'I act to give a better flotation in extremely soft soil and in snow. An advantage of:this embodiment of the invention is that the track would be self-cleaning yin nature and thus increase the general efli'- ciency of the track. In an exceedingly soft terrain-the lateral surfaces Yof soil shear kwould be increasedaby the height at which the upper flange is located above the maintrack links and thus more advantage taken of more cohesive forces. The upper member I'I could also be in the'form of acontinuous lightweight rubber belt arranged to be :moved in synchronism'with the track.

, Figure 6 illustrates thereflned theory of the lwedgeshearing of soils under plastic flow and it will be notedthattherc is a zone A the bottom portion of whichy is curved *and a zone B. 'The zone Amight 'be defined according to accepted theories of soil .mechanics as the Zone of radial shear andthe. zone B as the Rankine zone. The .distance Z between links should cover to `the length of the radial Zone and the Rankine zone though in some cases less efficient operation may be secured where the distance l is shorter.

The spaced link track of this invention is particularly useful when applied to tractors, cargo carrying vehicles or armoured vehicles and will increase its performance due to the ability of obtaining higher Values of tractive effort which are unobtainable with conventional tracks. In tests carried out at a military proving grounds in cohesionless sand with a light cargo vehicle it has been found that a tractive effort equal to 118% of the vehicle weight was obtained, whereas the best known results with a similar vehicle employing conventional track was between and of the weight of the vehicle. Employing conventional track the only way that the tractive effort could be increased would be to 7 increase the vehicle weight with the accompanying disadvantages.

The greater tractive effort obtained with vehicles using the new track will materially improve the steering characteristics of tracked vehicles by increasing the available steering moment. Heretofore, the ratio of length to width yof the tracked vehicle was always very small in order to achieve proper steering. The vehicle width being limited by traiiic considerations, the length has, consequently, always been relatively short. It has been found with vehicles using the track of this invention that steering was quite satisfactory despite lengthening the vehicle by 20% above the conventional` standards. The above may be explained by the fact that in this particular case the available steering moment was increased almost 100%. This advantage alters one of the restrictions previously encountered in the design of tracked vehicles and also improves the load bearing characteristics of the vehicle.

It is obvious that on a hard ground (paved roads) where the action of a spaced link track is identical with the action of any conventional track, i. e. when the tractive eiort equals weight times coeicient of friction, only the above discussed steering advantage is non-existent. In this case a too long vehicle despite being equipped with a spaced link track would not steer.

In order to offset such a disadvantage, an assymetric location of rubber pads, or steel spuds which support the tracks on a hard surface may be provided. This solution is shown in Figure 10 Where the length/width ratio of ground contact area is adequate for steering purposes, since the track supports have been offset toward the outer side of the track links.

As the weight of the vehicle employing the new track is not as critical in developing tractive eiort as in conventional vehicles lighter vehicles can be built which is a distinct advantage in the use of airborne equipment which is to be dropped to advance fighting troops.

In the examples cf the invention described above the invention has been applied to continuous tracked vehicles but it is within the scope of this invention as illustrated in Figure 7 to space spuds or grousers on rotary wheels or ordinary wheeled vehicles in a similar manner to the spacing of the spuds or grousers on a continuous track. In the example of the invention illustrated in Figure 7 one modiiication has been shown but it is within the scope of the invention to utilize various arrangements of spuds or grousers in order to meet various soil conditions providing that the space distance between the grousers is within the invention as described above.

I claim:

1. In a continuous track for vehicles having a plurality of connected links, and grousers joined to said links, the improvement comprising grousers each composed of a ground surface engaging ange and a ground penetrating flange, the ground surface engaging ange of each grouser being separated by a clear space from the similar anges of adjacent grousers, said space being a distance Z between the free edge of a surface engaging flange and the penetrating flange of an adjacent grouser according to the formula:

Where s is the width of the ground surface engaging flange, e is the Naperian base 2.718, h is the height of the ground penetrating ange, qs is the angle of the internal friction of the soil, and 0 is the angle at which the ground bearing capacity is sloped to the perpendicular.

2. In a continuous track as in claim 1, each of said links comprising a horizontal portion and a depending vertical portion, and said grousers being secured to the lower free ends of said vertical portion whereby said horizontal portion is positioned out of contact with the surface of the ground.

3. In a continuous track as in claim 1 further comprising grousers each of which has a ground penetrating flange the lower edge of which is inclined from a point adjacent the outer side of the link towards the two side edges of said grouser, whereby reducing steering resistance of said track on hard ground.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,139,009 Allen May 11, 1915 1,260,259 Fish Mar. 19, 1918 1,273,777 Hansen July 23, 1918 1,398,890 Coatsworth Nov. 29, 1921 2,487,813 Knox NOV. 15, 1949 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 256,366 Italy DeC. 22, 1927 48,136 Netherlands Apr. 15, 1940 

